A soldier was shot dead by police during a large-scale exercise by Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, in the southern Bavarian city of Erding, officials said Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Bundeswehr’s operational command told German media that a misunderstanding had led to the shooting between soldiers taking part in the exercise and police called by local residents.
The soldier has been released from hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, according to the spokesperson and local police.
Why did the German police open fire on military units?
As part of an exercise called Marshal Power, the Bundeswehr is currently carrying out an exercise involving approximately 500 military police as well as hundreds of first responders from police, fire and rescue services.
The exercises are being held in public spaces in a dozen Bavarian towns and cities north of Munich, including Erding, to rehearse for an attack on the NATO member state.
Bavarian police said they were responding to reports of a man carrying weapons and deployed several units, including a helicopter, southeast of Erding on Wednesday evening.
According to the German daily PictureMilitary police fired practice ammunition at arriving police officers, believing it was part of military exercises.
The police officers then allegedly fired back with live ammunition, resulting in the bullet injury to one soldier.
“The shots were fired due to a misinterpretation at the scene,” Bavarian police said in a statement.
“It was later discovered that the person carrying the weapon was a member of the German armed forces, who
was on site as part of an exercise,” the statement said.
It said the state criminal police are investigating the incident in collaboration with local authorities.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar